The average price of burgers, fries and drinks at McDonald’s has doubled in just a decade, but some items have gone up even more.
A recent report covered by DailyMail.com showed, for example, how McChicken went from $1 to $2.99 and a quarter pound with cheese flour from $5.30 to $11.99.
Now, fans (or former fans) of America’s largest fast food chain have given their verdict on Reddit after a user posted the price changes.
One person joked in response: “Would you say the menu prices have collectively doubled?”
And one Redditor was direct: “It’s a stupid move: they only have market share if they are cheap fast food.” With higher prices, people will go elsewhere for better quality.’
Over the past decade, the average cost of a variety of typical McDonald’s menu items has doubled. The photo shows the items that have increased the most in price.
One of them pointed out an element that was missing in the investigation and that, they say, is the one that has increased the most.
‘How dare they leave out the most egregious price increase: hash browns?’ I think they were $0.89 each in 2014 and now they’re $3.19 each.’ one person wrote.
Someone responded: ‘$3.19 for a hashbrown is ridiculous.’ They are literally French fries.
WeirdAvocado said, “Spend a little more and go to non-chain burger joints.” The quality of everything is much better.”
Some backed popular West Coast chain In-N-Out, known for using only fresh burgers and real potatoes for its fries, and paying staff well.
‘It’s cheaper to get a double cheeseburger meal at in n out (where there are a lot more employees working) than it is to get a quarter pound meal with kiosks everywhere… it’s not even real food. thus processed,” Icetelee wrote.
AlarmingSpend988 suggested customers vote with their wallets, writing, “Everyone complains, but not enough avoid McDonald’s.” Of course they are going to raise prices.’
RageSquid12 joked that McDonald’s had raised prices to compensate for falling sales: ‘Lord, people have stopped coming to our stores! Our sales are down almost 4%!’
‘Fast! Please raise the menu prices again to compensate!’
Snidgrogen said they thought that while prices had gone up, quality had gone down.
“It’s interesting considering their quality control has dropped by 100% over the same period,” they wrote.
Customers were not only fed up with the prices and quality, but they also complained about the speed of service.
SnootcherGoobers wrote: ‘Supplement it with longer wait times. Once upon a time everything was fine because food was cheap and you could get down the road pretty quickly.
‘The price and speed compensate for the quality. Now, you could just as easily go to a restaurant for almost the same cost and time with the benefit of a better meal. Now we very rarely go there.
Both Chilli’s and Applebee’s have recently launched $10 burger meal deals, which they promote as larger and served by waiters.
Portions that seemed smaller at McDonald’s were also a complaint.
“Everything goes up and the weight of everything goes down…greed,” HalfBakedMason wrote.
AlarmingSpend988 suggested customers vote with their wallets, writing, “Everyone complains, but not enough avoid McDonald’s.” Of course they are going to raise prices.’
Another criticized: ‘PROFITS! using damn covid as a cover.
McDonald’s prices have come under scrutiny after bosses admitted it had lost customers due to price increases over the past two years.
But new research by FinanceBuzz shows the scale of price increases over 10 years. In that time, the average cost of a selection of its top menu items has doubled. Some items cost three times as much.
This is more than three times the official inflation rate: The cost of goods has increased 31 percent since 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
So a quarter pounder with cheese flour and an Oreo McFlurry would cost you less than $8. Now, that combination would cost more than twice as much, about $16.50.
In the rest of the US economy, $8 in 2014 would now be worth about $10.50.
Some menu items have gotten more expensive faster: A McChicken cost just a dollar in 2014, but now it costs three times as much.
Medium fries have more than doubled in price, from $1.59 to $3.79 this year. A McDouble was $1.19 then, but now $3.19.
Other items have been less vulnerable to price increases. The cost of a medium drink has risen less than inflation: $1.29 a decade ago, but still only $1.61.
It comes as photos of high prices at some McDonald’s restaurants have gone viral, including an Egg McMuffin for $7.29 and a Big Mac for $8.39.
Kim Kardashian eating a McDonald’s Big Mac to celebrate the burger’s 40th birthday in Malibu in 2008
Pictured is a McDonald’s restaurant in 2014. Back then, a quarter pounder with cheese flour and an Oreo McFlurry cost less than $8.
Neil Saunders, managing director of consultancy GlobalData Retail, told DailyMail.com this year that consumers are growing tired of price increases.
‘The problem is that places like McDonald’s were once cheap delights but are now becoming expensive luxuries. And customers are tired of continued price increases,” he said.
McDonald’s questioned some of the pricing in the FinanceBuzz report, adding: “Value is part of McDonald’s DNA and we are committed to offering customers great value through everyday affordable prices, plus special offers and promotions on our app and through the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program.
